Delhi Full Statehood Dilemma or a Misuse of the laws
1993 was the year when Delhi got it’s first chief minister and council of ministers. Delhi has seen 6 Chief minister tenure and before most of them, the topic of Delhi Full Statehood had been a hot topic. It’s been over 25 years since then but the topic has remained on pages and manifestos only. All parties have demanded it from time to time but no one fought for it.
The Political Stunt
From the current stance of BJP and Congress, it appears that the Delhi full statehood has always been aone to garner votes only. Both the political parties have demanded it from time to time but never worked for it. In January 2013 BJP claimed that Congress didn’t make enough effort for granting Delhi a full statehood. “Delhi’s growth is restricted in absence of full statehood and Congress has done nothing during the last 14 years on this issue”. were the words of Vijay Goel in 2013. “Full statehood to Delhi would bring greater accountability, more resources and less confusion over administrative issues. Unfortunately, the Congress government in Delhi has deliberately ignored this basic need of the city” he added. Here is one of the tweets of the leader.
After coming to power, BJP will provide full statehood to Delhi, says @VijayGoelBJP
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) September 17, 2013
Delhi Full Statehood was one of the key points of Congress manifesto for 2015 elections but in the current situation, their stance is unknown. “The Congress party would renew its demand for full statehood for the Capital for effective Governance without any shackles, as the present system of the multiplicity of agencies and authorities not under the Government of NCT create many hurdles and holdups in implementing people-friendly and development projects. Delhi needs to have a unified command structure, fully empowered to take decisions and issue directions on all matters, including land, Municipal governance and the police (barring matters relating to the security of the Union Government and the diplomatic core). We will demand transfer of all rights exercised by other State Governments on all subjects included in the State list of the Constitution” were the exact wording used in the manifesto.
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Delhi Full Statehood- Current Scenario
After the Central Government passed an order that the bureaucrats and ACB in Delhi would be reporting to the LG, it has become quite difficult for the current government in Delhi to work properly. Moreover, Arvind Kejriwal has been blaming the central government of hindering the works being done by them. So the situation has arisen where the State Government has started a full-fledged initiative to grant Delhi full statehood. Even Arvind Kejriwal has promised to campaign for BJP is full statehood is provided to Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal has demanded all political parties to come together to grant Delhi full statehood. But none of the party is currently interested in providing full statehood to Delhi as it would help Kejriwal complete one of its key promise made during the election. Moreover, a full Delhi state mean power lies in the hands of Chief Minister and he is the supremo and that would make Kejriwal implement his schemes more independently, which none of the political party wouldn’t want.
So it’s impossible for Delhi to be a full state until the Central and state government belongs to a single party. And that too happening in nearby future looks blurr. So we are set to watch another round of words among the political parties.
